It's better to fall in love than seize the heir

The people surrounding both sides of the street were startled by this loud shout, and started to discuss with a little uneasiness.Noisy words and questions overlapped and fell on Shen Jinghe's ears, but it was as if separated by a hazy veil, making it difficult for people to distract themselves to hear clearly.

The speed of the galloping horse was very fast. In a blink of an eye, it passed through many crowds and rushed straight towards the convoy.

Shen Jinghe's pupils reflected the approaching shadow of the steed, and for some reason, a panic spread in his heart, as if God had given him such a mysterious premonition that it was about to be sent to him. What kind of ominous words will the urgent report in my hand bring.

The little official finally rode to the front on the galloping horse that was almost foaming at the mouth, he didn't bother to salute, but hurriedly handed the letter to Shen Jinghe, panting heavily, "Sixth Prince, This... this is an urgent report from the palace, so you must, must speed up your journey back to the palace!"

The thin envelope has a cold texture to the touch, not thick, but it seems to weigh more than a thousand catties at this time.

Shen Jinghe's hand holding the letter began to tremble inexplicably, he took a deep breath and was about to open the letter.When the seal was about to be unsealed, he suddenly turned his head to look at Liang Yan who was at the side with some unease, as if he wanted to find even the slightest comfort from his solemn face.

"It's okay, I'm here."

Liang Yan saw that his eyes were stained with panic, and unconsciously showed a begging and fragile look.Moved in his heart, he simply turned over and got off the horse, walked to Shen Jinghe's side and stood close to his shoulder, tilted his head and made a promise in a low voice.

He firmly squeezed Shen Jinghe's wrist through the cover of his sleeve robe, and without any other words, he slowly calmed down Shen Jinghe's restless mind due to the disturbance.

Shen Jinghe took over the thin blade that opened the letter, and cut open the seal bit by bit until the thin layer of letter paper inside was exposed.

A line of words was written on the letter paper, burning and stinging his eyes like a crimson fire——

The queen suffered from abdominal pain and coughed up blood again and again. The imperial doctor diagnosed that the old disease had recurred and was in danger.Return soon.

In just 24 words, it almost took his breath away in an instant.

Standing beside him, Liang Yan naturally had a panoramic view of the content on the letter paper.He opened his eyes wide in surprise and pain, but in the next second he quickly realized what kind of thunderbolt this line of words would be to Shen Jinghe, who had been with the empress for four years.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Shen Jinghe, reaching out his hand to support his body that might suddenly lose strength due to unbearable.

——However, Shen Jinghe stood upright in the same place, his tensed back was even more straight than Xiuzhu who was proud of the snow and frost on the rock.Without saying a word, he raised his eyes from the letter paper, the expression in his eyes changed inexplicably, but the fingers tightly pinching the letter paper had already ravaged the white paper until it was wrinkled.

"Get on the horse, let's set off."

He spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, and after leaving this sentence, without even looking at the convoy behind him, he turned over after leading the nearest horse, and sped towards the outskirts of the city like an arrow without looking back.

Liang Yan knew him very well. After seeing his somewhat empty eyes, he didn't know that although he tried his best to maintain a calm face, his heart was already in a nearly barren daze.He casually gave a few instructions to the team, and quickly got on his own horse, with his legs clamped between the horse's belly, and followed closely behind Shen Jinghe.

Shen Jinghe faced the harsh mountain wind that blew on his face, countless complex emotions and distorted faces flashed in his mind, but in the end they all turned into a blank and dark white.He felt as if he had fallen into an extremely weird dream that he couldn't get out of, and he didn't know what to think or do, but he just grasped the rein in his hand blankly and indifferently, mechanically following the speed of the galloping horse. Direction forward.

Go back to the palace, go back to the palace, go back to the palace!

A voice called over and over again in a hurry in his mind, and this was all the words he could think of.

——Why do you want to return to the palace quickly?

He lowered his head, trampling on the horse's hooves startled the dry mud and flying sand along the way, and the smoke and dust blowing towards his face made the rapidly receding scenery on both sides even more blurred.His drowsy mind was a little irritable, and it was because the sound of blood surging and boiling in the atrium was too loud, like thunder on a sunny day, roaring and echoing in his ears.

Liang Yan's anxious cry suddenly sounded from behind, as if a cold light flashed across the drowsy pass in his mind, waking him up suddenly.

Shen Jinghe suddenly pulled the reins, and the galloping horse was forced to stop, raised its front hooves, and neighed a long time.

——Because, if you don’t go back soon, I’m afraid it will be too late.

The rough reins slipped from his fingers, and Shen Jinghe sat on the horse's back in a daze, his eyes were blank.There was the sound of horseshoes approaching behind him, and finally stopped beside him.

"He'er..." Liang Yan looked at him with pity, and moved his fingertips, as if he wanted to touch his face, but in the end he clenched his fist tightly in front of him, "It's okay. The empress is auspicious." She has her own appearance, maybe when we go back, she will already be in good health."

Shen Jinghe was silent for a long time, and finally forced a smile on his face, but his expression was full of despair, "You are right...the empress is still in Changle Palace, waiting for me to come back from Jiangnan. "

He closed his eyes deeply, raised his horsewhip again, straightened his back and walked forward quickly.Liang Yan quickly rode his horse and followed beside him, turned back to his deep eyes that had been focusing on his face, and suppressed the trace of worry in his eyes.

The two of them still traveled day and night on Qingqi just like when they came to the south of the Yangtze River.However, this time, the endless mountains and rivers are full of silence that is about to come.

……

The full moon hangs high on the branches, and among the shadows cast obliquely by the branches, you can faintly see Shigui spreading his wings and flying past.The hazy moon shadow turns to the forest, and you can hear the sound of blood-crying birds from time to time, disturbing the night that is slowly flowing like water.

Liang Yan turned around and gently closed the door, sighed slightly, and strode out, with a gloomy expression.

In the past few days, they have been running at full speed, with almost no rest.The schedule has been compressed again and again, and the distance to the capital is getting closer day by day.

However, after persisting in this way for a long time, seeing Shen Jinghe's face getting paler day by day, and the tip of his chin getting thinner due to the constant running around day and night, Liang Yan finally calmed down, and ignored Shen Jinghe's request again and again. Insist on taking him to the station to rest.In case he hadn't rushed to the capital, but he fell ill first.

After finally persuading him to lie down on the couch, he came out of the room when he was free, and prepared to order the back kitchen of the station to cook a bowl of warm porridge for Shen Jinghe to use when he woke up.

Liang Yan rubbed his eyebrows, and continued to walk towards the back kitchen.When he turned around, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a white shadow flying by from the corner of his eye, and the sound of flapping wings could be faintly heard.

When he finally watched the servants in the back kitchen simmer a cup of clear porridge and served it with his own hands and returned to the room, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Shen Jinghe sitting half-covered with a quilt in a daze bedside.

"Are you awake now?" Liang Yanfu opened the two snow-white bird feathers that fell on the table at some time, and carefully put away the steaming rice porridge, "I just brought a bowl of clear porridge from the back kitchen. , if you are hungry later..."

"Liang Yan."

Shen Jinghe spoke suddenly, and slowly turned his neck to look at him, blankly unfolding the envelope that had just been removed in his hand.

Liang Yan was taken aback by his call, looked at the letter paper between his pale fingers, and immediately understood what the white shadow he had just seen was.An ominous premonition suddenly rose in his heart, but before he could fully react, Shen Jinghe continued to speak softly.

"I don't have a mother anymore..."

He raised his eyes and looked up, there was a quiet darkness in his pupils.The pupils were like stars that suddenly dimmed and lost focus.

Liang Yan only felt his heart tightening suddenly. He walked to the edge of the bed in two or three steps, carefully sat on the edge of the bed, and tentatively stretched out his hand to lightly wrap Shen Jinghe's shoulder.

"I'm here...I'm here." Liang Yan had also tasted the pain of losing a loved one, and of course he knew clearly that in the face of life and death, any consolation seemed so feeble.However, he still hugged the young man in his arms tightly, trying to melt the emptiness on his pale face with the warmth of his body.

Shen Jinghe fell into Liang Yan's arms, murmured in a daze, "The letter says that the queen is dead...but how is this possible? When I left, the empress was only slightly catching the cold. She also gave me a full bottle of A plate of snacks, and sitting in the palace looking at the flower and bird paintings I gave her... We just agreed that when I come back from Jiangnan, I will bring her some calligraphy and paintings."

"Why won't she wait for me?"

His voice was slightly hoarse, as if the bright moon had lost all its light overnight.

Liang Yan felt a pain in his heart, he patted Shen Jinghe's shoulder and back lightly, and pressed his chin against his temple, "Cry if you want to cry, maybe you can feel better after crying. "

"But I couldn't cry - she was so kind to me, and she was gone, but I couldn't shed a single tear."

Shen Jinghe raised his head slightly, looked straight at him, and pulled the corners of his mouth very reluctantly.

"Liang Yan, I'm really a cold-hearted person."

Liang Yan caressed his side face with one hand, as if he was treating some extremely fragile treasure with care.Although there were no tears on the face of the person in front of him, the miserable smile on his lips was clearly uglier than crying, and for no reason it filled people's hearts with a sense of grief.

"You are not." Liang Yan lowered his eyes to look at him with a serious expression, "I know you are not. I have experienced your sadness before, and I know how heart-wrenching it is. But you must Remember, I will always be by your side, I will always be there."

He lowered his head, pressed his forehead deeply against Shen Jinghe's, and said softly, "Your Majesty has a spirit in the sky, and I definitely don't want you to be too sad. For her, for me, and for yourself, cheer up early ,Okay?"

"Liang Yan..." Shen Jinghe's nose was slightly sore, he buried his head on Liang Yan's shoulder, and whispered unconsciously.

Liang Yan patted his head, "I'm here."

Closing his eyes wearily, Shen Jinghe was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice.

"Liang Yan."

"I am here……"

Shen Jinghe's body that had been stiff all this time slowly relaxed.He grabbed Liang Yan's skirt with one hand, and called out in a low voice over and over again.Every time, I can always get the reassuring answer as I wish.

I am here.

He is so tired.In the familiar warm embrace, amidst the tireless and gentle responses, Shen Jinghe finally lost consciousness in a daze, and fell into a boundless sleep.

……

Now passing by the parrot island, there is only ruthless clear water flowing.

The sky in the capital was a bit gray, and in the empty Changle Palace, only the ultramarine tassel curtain fluttered in the wind.The air is palpitatingly quiet, and the rustling of the grass and trees can be heard in the courtyard from time to time.

The vermilion palace gate opened slowly with a creak.After a long time, light footsteps could be heard above the bluestone slab.

Shen Jinghe walked slowly into this palace that he was very familiar with, it was still the same elegant decoration before he walked together, it was still the unblooming Xuanyan Zaomei beside the window of Daiqiangqi.

However, the inside of the palace was already dead silent, and the smiling figure of Duanfang was no longer sitting in the main hall. When he passed by, he would always beckon him to sit beside him, complaining about the continuous light rain under the long eaves , asking him not to forget to bring a green paper umbrella.

Walking to the painting of flowers and birds that was still hanging on the inner wall of the hall, Shen Jinghe lightly pressed his cold fingertips on the scroll, and followed the patterns of the peony flowers in full bloom, moving and tracing them carefully.

"master……"

Cheng Mo followed behind him without saying a word, seeing his slightly absent-minded face, his eyes turned red.

Shen Jinghe withdrew his fingers, turned his head halfway to look at him, and said without any ups and downs, "Where are the palace servants from Changle Palace? Are they scattered to the empress of which palace?"

Cheng Mo hesitated and didn't know how to speak, so he raised his eyes and glanced at him, "No..."

"No?" Shen Jinghe frowned, "Is that going to other divisions in the palace? No, according to common sense, the palace maids who have served the queen should not be assigned to those divisions in any case. .”

"Neither of them." Cheng Mo gritted his teeth and said with a frown, "They were all... all buried by His Majesty's order for the empress, and there was not one left!"

"what?"

Shen Jinghe suddenly turned around, his expression extremely ugly.

He originally wanted to summon the former palace servants of Changle Palace and ask them about the situation of the queen in the last moments, so as to find out why it was only a short month, and a good person can say nothing.

But now...

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.He has never heard of any dynasty of palace people who want to leave none of them for the concubine to be buried, unless it is not a burial, but for--

"What about the imperial physician who once treated the empress?"

Shen Jinghe raised his head and looked in the direction of the palace wall, with a trace of coldness in his eyes.

"The servant heard that the imperial physician was ineffective in diagnosis and treatment, and failed to cure the empress. His majesty dismissed his official in anger. A few days ago, he had already brought his family out of the city, maybe, maybe he returned to his hometown." Cheng Mo lowered his head, Word by word comes the news that I have paid special attention to in the past few days.

"Return home?" Shen Jinghe sneered, and strode towards the gate of the palace, "Then let's go to his hometown to find him out and ask him to find out what happened during my absence! "

"Master!" Cheng Mo called out anxiously, but he didn't have time to grab the hem of his skirt that was passing by.

The cold look on Shen Jinghe's face was forcibly suppressed, only his eyes, which were scorched by the bursting anger, revealed the shock, anger and hatred in his heart.

He was about to raise his legs to step out of the palace gate, but he suddenly stopped in his steps because of a hoarse whisper.

"No need..." An unexplainably aged figure of a few years gradually turned outside the palace gate, his back slightly hunched, "That imperial doctor encountered bandits on the mountain road back home, and the whole family, young and old, never stayed behind." One is alive."

Shen Jinghe looked at the man's wrinkled face, his eyes were dazed, "Elder-in-law..."

With muddy tears in Dequan's eyes, he said with great sorrow, "Sixth Highness, I know that you are unwilling to be reconciled to your mother's death, and also know that you want to investigate thoroughly and give her a clear answer... But you listen A word of advice from the servant, stop and stop the investigation. Don’t say that all the clues have been cut off now, even if there are, you have the right to just ignore it. Don’t let the empress worry about you under the nine springs.”

"Elder-in-law, what's going on here?" Shen Jinghe clenched his molars tightly, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart, "Do you know what's going on? Tell me, tell me!"

Dequan closed his eyes and shook his head. After a long time, he struggled and whispered, "Your Highness Sixth, you can't fight now... I promised my empress that you will take good care of her after she leaves. Don't ask me any more." Yes, the slave can’t and won’t say it.”

Shen Jinghe took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.He pondered for a moment, staring at Dequan for a moment, "If you don't want to tell me, then let me guess—is it Concubine Xu? Or, or..."

He endured it, then shook his fingertips slightly, and said those two extremely difficult words cautiously.

"……emperor?"

As if struck by lightning, Dequan took a heavy step back.His expression changed again and again, and finally he let out a long sigh, and said with tears, "Although the servant is old and dim, he can barely understand the twists and turns in the palace. The onset of illness, or the death of an imperial doctor in a foreign land, cannot be separated from Xu's shadow."

He paused, then continued with a hoarse voice.

"However... for this matter, the best situation for that person is to acquiesce."

Of course Shen Jinghe understood what he meant - the best situation is to acquiesce, isn't it just saying that turning a blind eye is keeping the affection of husband and wife for many years.Didn't participate in it personally, is it already a gift from the person on the dragon chair?

"Heh... There is no one in the Wei family anymore, and he won't even let go of his wife who has been with him for many years?" Shen Jinghe shook his head in disbelief, his face suddenly lost all color, only The rest was pale.

When Dequan heard him mentioning the Wei family, he hurriedly looked around nervously, and after making sure that there were no other eyes and ears around, he persuaded in a low voice, "Your Highness, please listen to the servant's advice. It is better not to mention it again. The matter of the previous generation was extremely complicated, and it has long been a tacit agreement among the elderly courtiers in the court to keep silent. No matter how long it has passed... this matter is always in the heart of His Majesty. A thorn came out."

"Sting?" Shen Jinghe seemed to hear some extremely ridiculous words, covered his eyes with one hand, and couldn't help laughing out loud.At the end of the laugh, his voice gradually lowered and turned into a murmur that was almost broken.

"This is the Tian family, this is the emperor... For a thorn in the heart, what is a living life?"

Seeing that he seemed to be in a daze, Dequan quickly stepped forward two steps, and persuaded him in a low voice, "Your Highness, Your Majesty is in the spirit of heaven, and I certainly don't want to see you so sad. If you are thinking of Your Majesty, please don't...don't What are you doing stupid!"

"Stupid thing?" Shen Jinghe put down his hands covering his eyes, and closed his eyes, all the burning anger was locked under the ice-cold star pupils.

"No, I won't do stupid things." When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were as cold and emotionless as lonely snow, "Ten years is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge."

He raised his head and looked at a beam of brilliant sunlight that suddenly broke through the clouds and cast it down. The light poured down from the mountains in the nine layers of green sky like a tsunami, and seemed to sweep away all the shadows curled up and watching in the world.

There is the sound of cranes screaming, rushing to the sky, Ling Qiyun, and heard Jiugao.

"This hatred must be reported."

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Thank you Xue Chuimo and Wan Yi Niansheng for throwing mines~ I love you guys

Thank you Zuo Mu, Mu Qingwan, and Wanyi for their nutrient solution!hug